wenger



(-No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. J. WENGER.

CLASP.

BIO/408,382. Patented Aug. 6, 1889.

n PETERS. PhaloLithognphnr. Washington, n.c.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. WENGER.

GLASP.-

No. 408,332. Patented Aug. 6, 1889.

I iwmzor u PETERS, Phom-Uthognpher. Wnhlngwn. n. a

UNITED STATES PATENT EIcE.

ALFRED HOUSE, OF SAME PLAC NE\V YORK, N. Y.

E, AND FERDINAND S. M. BLUM, OF

CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 408,332, dated August 6, 18 89. Application filed April 24, 1889. Serial No. 308,380. (No model.)

To aZZ 1072 0722, it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS WVENGER, a citizen f the Republic of Switzerland, residing at Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clasps; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

" clear, and exact description of the invention,

' such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain novel and useful improvements in clasps, such as are employed for securing the meeting edges of corsets or gloves or the ends of garters, belts, and similar articles, and has for its object to provide a clasp which shall be simple in its construction, positive in its operation, and which shallproject but slightly above the surface to which it is attached; and with these ends in view my invention consists in the construction and combination of operating elements, hereinafter to be described and then recited in the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may fully understand its construction and operation, I will describe the same in detail, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved clasp as attached to a pair of corset-sections; Fig. 2, a similar view showing the clasp looked and attached to a belt or band; Fig. 3, a view like to Fig. 2, but with its parts disengaged; Fig. 4, abottom plan view of the tongue and hook in their proper relative positions; Fig. 5, an edge view; Fig. 6, a detail perspective of the tongue and hook; Fig. 7, a detail elevation of the locking-staple, and Fig. 8 a plan view of a clasp in which the hook is pivoted on the outside of the tongue.

Like reference-numerals indicate the same parts in all the figures of the drawings.

A B represent, respectively, the bases to which the male and female members of the clasp are attached. In Fig. 1 these are the front steels of a corset,and in Figs. 2 and 3 the end clips or plates of a garter or belt.

The male member of the clasp consists of a plate 1, adapted to be firmly secured upon one edge of the garment, as upon the steel A, said plate being provided with a tongue 2, projecting outwardly therefrom. Said plate has also a small inwardly-projecting stop 3, designed to limit the downward swing of the locking-hook. This hook 4; is preferably arranged beneath the plate, which is in that case curved to allow the hook to move freely under it, and at its heel end said hook is pivoted either to the steel, as shown, or it may be pivoted t0 the plate near the rear of the latter. Said hook has a beak 5, whose outer surface is inclined, as at 6, a small projection 7 above the incline to serve as a handle for raising the hook upon its pivotal point, and upon its back said hook is furnished with an inclined or cam surface 8, whose purpose will be hereinafter explained. Upon the complementary meeting edge of the garment or belt, as B, is arranged a loop or staple 9 of such size as to freely admit the tongue, and this staple forms the female member of the clasp.

In the operation of lockin g the two members of the clasp, and thereby securing the edges of the garment or belt to which they are attached,

the staple or loop is moved toward and over the end of the hook, which by gravity is normally retained at the position shown at Fig. 3. The wire of which the staple is formed,when pushed against the inclined outer edge of the beak, raises the hook, whereupon the staple passes over the hook and also over the tongue: As the hook is raised and the staple passes over the tongue, the upper edge of said staple engages the cam-surface at the back of the hook, and thereby forces said hook downward, so that its beak is positively carried into engagement with the lower side of the staple. The function of the tongue is to obviate any possibility of lengthwise movement of the edges oneupon the other when the members of the clasp are in engagement, and to serve as a guide in engaging said members.

In disengaging the clasp it is necessary only to raise the hook by means of the projection 7 until its beak clears the lower edge of the staple, when the parts will readily slip backward out of engagement.

In this my invention I do not wish to be confined to the precise details of construction which I have herein shown and described, since the same may be varied in several minor particulars without departing from the spirit of my invention. The locking-hook, for instance, may be, if it be desirable, pivoted outside the tongueinstead of beneath it, and, as heretofore suggested, it may be secured to the plate equally as well as to the steel or-elip A.

I claim- 1. In a clasp of the character described, the combination, with the staple, the same constituting the female member of the clasp, of a stationary tongue arranged to enter the staple, and a locking-hook having a cam-surface at the outer side of the beak, and a cam-surface at its back, said hook being pivoted and lying parallel with the tongue, substantially as set forth.

2. In a clasp, the combination, with the staple forming the female member and mounted upon one of the edges to be fastened, of the tongue secured upon the complementary edge and adapted to freely enter the staple, and the locking-hook pivoted at its rear end and lying alongside the tongue, said hook having at its under and forward end a cam-surface adapted to engage the lower side of the staple, and thereby raise said hook, and having also a cam-surface at its ,back adapted to engage the upper side of the staple, and thereby depress said hook after the beak has passed through said staple, substantially as set forth.

3. In a clasp of the character described, the combination, with the plate having the projecting tongue, said plate being curved upwardly from the base to which it is attached, of the locking-hook pivoted beneath the plate substantially in the line with the tongue, the inclined surfaces upon said hook, and the staple arranged upon the complementary meeting edge and adapted to be engaged by the tongue and hook, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

' JULIUS WENGER. \Vitnesses:

S. H. HUBBARD, M. C. IIINCHCLIFFE. 

